A Buffy Christmas Tale
by The Bard2
Summary: A christmas in Sunnydale


Title -A Buffy Christmas Tale  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Rating - PG  
  
Opinions - Highly welcome send em to thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. The shirt on my back (just), and my extensive knowledge bank that enabled me to write this story.  
  
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A Buffy Christmas Tale  
  
T'was the night before Christmas and all over Sunnydale you'd think nothing would be stirring but The Bronze was holding their annual Christmas celebration. Attending the gathering, or hootenanny as Oz would have put it, were Buffy, Dawn, Xander, Anya, Willow, Tara and Giles.  
  
"Well this is a change," Buffy said, "No vamps to slay, no demons to dispatch and no unusual happenings."  
  
"And no Spike." Willow joked.  
  
"Yes, I have to admit it does the heart good to feel safe for one night." Giles said with a smile.  
  
"Can we exchange gifts now?" Dawn said almost bouncing in her seat, "Or do we have to wait till tomorrow?"  
  
"Alright one gift each when we get home, OK?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Ok." Dawn said as she deflated a little.  
  
Buffy exchanged an amused look with Giles.  
  
"Ann, wanna dance?" Xander asked his girlfriend.  
  
"Yes." She answered as he led her to the dance floor.  
  
"Those two look absolutely happy." Buffy commented.  
  
"Yes they do don't they." Giles answered, "And you Buffy, how are you holding up?"  
  
"I'm fine, I'm just glad that I have all of you here with me." Buffy said with a thankful look at Giles.  
  
"We'll always be with you." Willow said from her seat across from her.  
  
Dawn got up and moved to the dance floor where she had spotted some of her classmates.  
  
"Another drink anyone?" Giles asked as he got up to go to the bar.  
  
"Water?" asked Willow.  
  
"Same here?" asked Tara.  
  
"Coke?" asked Buffy.  
  
"Done." he said as he turned round and headed to the bar.  
  
"Wanna dance sweetie?" Tara asked Willow.  
  
"Defiantly." she answered as she got up and they headed towards the dance floor.  
  
Giles returned a few minutes later with the drinks, and set Willow and Tara's in front of their seats and gave Buffy hers.  
  
Three hours later the gang, exhausted from their night of merriment, arrived at the Summers' residence.  
  
"Can we open a present now?" Dawn said. She was excited despite being dead tired.  
  
"Ok." Buffy said with a smile.  
  
They all went into the living room Willow sat on the couch and Tara came and snuggled up to her.  
  
"Merry Christmas, honey." she said.  
  
"Happy Hanukah, you mean." Willow replied with a smile as she bent her head to kiss Tara, who responded by kissing back. After a few seconds they broke their embrace  
  
"Ahem, here we go, Dawn." Buffy said handing her a brightly wrapped parcel.  
  
"Cool." Dawn exclaimed as she tore into the wrapping paper, "Oh wow, a book on witches." she held up the book and showed it to the group.  
  
"Here, Buff." Willow said sitting up and handing her a present.  
  
"Thank you." she said.  
  
"It's from both Willow and me." Tara told her.  
  
Buffy carefully unwrapped the parcel to find a brown box, "This isn't like one of those Russian doll things is it?"  
  
"No." Willow said with a laugh. Tara smiled she liked it when Willow laughed.  
  
Buffy opened the box to find several vials of a purple powder, "What is it?"  
  
"A sunlight spell, for use against the vamps, but there is another present in the bottom of the box." Willow answered.  
  
"Huh?" Buffy said looking into the bottom of the box. There was a sweater, the one she had been eyeing in Bloomingdale's for at least the last month, "Thank you guys" she said as she got up and went and hugged each of the two witches.  
  
"Xander, where's mine?" demanded Anya.  
  
"Here Anya." Xander answered as he handed her the bright red wrapped gift.  
  
"Oh goody." Anya said almost bouncing out of her skin. The rest of the gang just had to smile at her. Anya ripped open the package and tore into the second layer of brown paper revealing a tasteful purple dress, "Oh I love it, thank you Xander." she leaned over and kissed him passionately, clearly Anya wanted to take it further.  
  
"Um knock it off you guys there's a kid in the room." Buffy said.  
  
"I am not a kid." Dawn said in an irritated tone as Xander and Anya pulled their lips apart.  
  
"Giles." Buffy said handing him a wrapped solid package.  
  
"Buffy, you didn't have to." he said taking the gift. he carefully opened it folding the wrapping paper as he went, "Oh, Buffy, thank you." Giles said looking at the very rare magical text.  
  
"Well I'm tired I think it's time we headed off." Willow said as she and Tara got up off the couch.  
  
"Yea we'd better be going too." Xander said.  
  
"Yes, we want to have sex." Anya stated matter-of-factly.  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes.  
  
"Come on Ann." Xander said pulling her towards the door, "Buff we'll see you tomorrow for our Christmas / Hanukah feast?"  
  
"Yea see you guys tomorrow." Buffy replied.  
  
Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya left the house and headed home.  
  
"Buffy, do you want me to stay?" Giles asked a much deeper question in his eyes.  
  
"No, we'll be ok, I'll see you tomorrow." Buffy answered reading the question perfectly.  
  
And with that Giles left. When Buffy got back into the living room she found that Dawn had fallen asleep in the chair she had been sitting in.  
  
"Dawn, time to go to bed." Buffy said gently shaking her sister awake.  
  
"Ok." Dawn said sleepily.  
  
Minutes later they were both fast asleep in their beds.  
  
Buffy woke early in the morning and got up and decided that she didn't feel like sleeping so she got dressed and headed down to the kitchen to get the festive feast ready. Just before she went down the stairs Dawn came out of her room and said, "Merry Christmas."  
  
"And a Merry Christmas to you too." Buffy replied with a smile, "Come on let's get breakfast."  
  
"Ok." Dawn said as she followed Buffy down the stairs.  
  
When they reached the bottom Buffy turned to go into the kitchen but Dawn looked into the living room and said, "Um Buffy, how many presents did you buy?"  
  
"Just a few, it's all I could afford, why?" Buffy said turning round to look at Dawn, as she did she caught a look at the living room, "Oh my god."  
  
The living room had dozens and dozens of brightly wrapped presents and a few sooty footprints on the carpet.  
  
"No way!" Dawn exclaimed, "Santa Claus really exists?"  
  
"It looks that way." Buffy said in amazement.  
  
Dawn ran into the room and began collecting presents that were for her.  
  
Buffy had to smile. She walked to the phone and dialled Giles number.  
  
"Hello?" Giles answered.  
  
"Hey, Giles it's me." Buffy said, "Um this is gonna sound weird but does Santa Claus really exist?"  
  
"I don't think so, why do you ask?" Giles answered.  
  
"Well we seem to have had a visit from him." she said.  
  
"Really well this is amazing." Giles said. "Well don't touch much I'll be round as soon as I can."  
  
With Giles on his way Buffy decided that the rest of the gang needed to know as well so she proceeded to call each of them.  
  
A matter of minutes later the entire gang was at the Summers' residence looking at the sooty footprints and the presents.  
  
"Wow, I'm thinking that us Jewish people got it all wrong." Willow said.  
  
"So could Santa be a demon of some sort only good?" Buffy asked.  
  
"It certainly looks that way." Giles answered.  
  
"Buffy, come here!" Dawn had wandered off into the kitchen.  
  
Buffy walked quickly into the kitchen and stared at the counter top in amazement.  
  
The entire counter was loaded with tons food and all of it was warm and looked delicious.  
  
"Oh wow!" Willow exclaimed as she came into the kitchen behind Buffy.  
  
"I say." Giles said following close behind her.  
  
"Santa?" Buffy asked looking at him.  
  
"Why yes I'd say so, looking at the evidence." he answered.  
  
"We shouldn't oughta let it go to waste." Xander said.  
  
As the group sat down to eat the radio clicked on.  
  
"Sleigh bells ring, are you listening, in the lane, snow is glistening, We frolic and play, the Eskimo way, walking in a winter wonderland." sang a magically soothing female voice.  
  
and with that the group sat down to the best Christmas feast any of them had ever had, while outside, had they been there to hear it, was a jingling of bells and the faint cry of "HO, HO, HO!"  
  
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The moral of this story is that you should never think things don't exist until you've seen proof that they don't, and yes I am advocating the belief in Santa Claus.  
  
With that I want to wish you all a very Merry Xmas and a happy New Year.  
  
Cheers Shane. 


End file.
